Cellmate accused of stabbing Eric Millerberg is charged

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The inmate accused of stabbing an Ogden murder suspect at the Utah State Prison has been charged with attempted murder.

Simon Russell Scown, 29, was charged in 3rd District Court on Friday with first-degree felony attempted aggravated murder, and second-degree felony counts of obstructing justice and possession of items prohibited in a correction facility, in the July 1 stabbing of his cellmate, Eric Millerberg.

Millerberg, 37, is accused of killing his 16-year-old baby sitter, Alexis Rasmussen, in September 2011.

He has been housed at the Utah State Prison on probation violations related to a 2010 forgery case and is awaiting trial on charges of first-degree felony child abuse homicide, obstruction of justice, desecration of a human body and having unlawful sexual activity with a minor.

According to a probable cause statement filed in court, prison officers conducted a status check on Millerberg and Scown's maximum security cell around 4:20 p.m. on July 1, and saw Millerberg against the door and Scown standing over him. Once inside the cell, an officer saw two cuts on Scown's forearm, and Millerberg had a swollen left eye and "puncture wounds" to his head, neck, torso, back and arms, according to court documents. Authorities later found a "shank" and disposable razors in the cell's waste pipe, according to the probable cause statement.

Both Millerberg and Scown belong to the gang Silent Aryan Warriors, one of the larger gangs at the Utah State Prison, according to prison officials. Court documents do not detail what motivated the attack.

Millerberg was taken to a local hospital after the attack and was treated for 22 to 25 stab and slash wounds. He was moved back to the prison within 24 hours of the stabbing.

In the child abuse homicide case, Millerberg is scheduled to appear in Ogden's 2nd District Court next Tuesday for a pretrial conference.

Dea Millerberg, his wife, testified last April at her husband's preliminary hearing that Eric Millerberg injected a fatal mix of heroin and methamphetamine into the teen in September 2011. After Rasmussen died, the couple panicked and dumped her body in a remote part of Morgan County. Police located Rasmussen's body five weeks after she disappeared.

Dea Millerberg is charged with desecration of a human body related to the girl's death.

Scown was sentenced in 2012 to up to five years in prison for violating a protective order and two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.

No court date had been set for Scown in the attempted murder case as of Monday morning.